


Horseplay

by Kinkycrop



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: BDSM, Corporal Punishment, D/s, M/M, Merthur - Freeform, Trust Issues, dom!Arthur, loyalty issues, sub!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:15:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4028191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinkycrop/pseuds/Kinkycrop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur had to put up with Merlin's insolent behaviour for far too long now. <br/>[Based on this scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64hcUHMnPVM]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Horseplay

“…I just want everyone in this kingdom to be seen as equal, regardless of rank“, Arthur finished his little speech while Merlin was helping him get out of his armour.

“Does that include me?” the servant asked.

“Of course!”

“So does that mean you won’t be hitting me anymore?”

“When did I ever hit you?” the young king asked with a startled look.

“Are you kidding me? You hit me all the time!” Merlin complained.

“That’s not hitting”, Arthur protested. “These are merely friendly slaps. It’s horseplay!”

Merlin looked at him with obvious disbelief.

“Horseplay, you say…so does that mean that I can give you ‘friendly slaps’ as well?” he asked almost threateningly, but Arthur didn’t notice the tone of his voice. He turned his back towards him and laughed.

“You’re welcome to try”, he said, knowing all too well that Merlin would never dare hitting him. After all, he was the King of Camelot and his master, despite their usual friendly relationship.  
Merlin, however, had never really known when to keep his mouth shut and constantly got into trouble, often deliberately so. While Arthur was facing the other direction, he took one of the leather gloves Arthur had just put down and slapped the king on the back of the head with as much force as he could muster.  
Arthur did not move an inch and the mischievous grin on Merlin’s face quickly disappeared.  
Slowly, the young king turned around to face his servant and pinned him down with his stare.

“What the hell was that?!”  
Arthur could sound very authoritative and threatening when he wanted to. By now, Merlin was a proper picture of misery.

“Um...that was…I mean…horseplay?” he stammered hopefully and managed to smile. After all, Arthur had said he was welcome to try.

“No, Merlin, you’re doing it all wrong.”  
Arthur suddenly had a somewhat evil smirk on his face which certainly didn’t mean anything good.

“Here, let me show you”, he said and with that he grabbed his servant and dragged him across the room to a table.

“Bend over, hands flat on the table”, he ordered.

“Arthur, I didn’t mean…it was just a joke!” Merlin tried to explain. “You said…”

“I said you were welcome to try, Merlin, I did not say there weren’t going to be any repercussions if you actually were so foolish to hit your king and master.”

“Arthur, please, you don’t have to do this”, Merlin pleaded.

“My dear Merlin, not only do I have to but I’ve been wanting to do this ever since you became my manservant and turned out to be the clumsiest and most insolent person I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting. And now it is certainly past time for you to remember your place and the proper way to address your sovereign.”

Arthur truly had been waiting for this moment to come. So many times had he dreamed about disciplining him, but somehow Merlin had always found a way to charmingly avoid punishment. Merlin, however, was still too baffled to say anything else in his defence. He felt that he had really pushed his luck too far this time. He just stood there and stared at Arthur’s stern face.

“Bend over, hands on the table. You do not want to make me order you a third time.” 

Arthur’s voice was cold but Merlin could see in the way his eyes lit up that he was challenging him. Part of him was hoping that he’d disobey. Arthur had always enjoyed displaying his power over him. Well, and over people in general; one of the many advantages of being king.  
Until now, Merlin had made sure to treat Arthur like a normal person. He had called him out on his mistakes on more occasions than he could remember and called him a prat – or clotpole – even more often. On some level he had always known that he couldn’t get away with that forever. Maybe it was good that it had come to this now. Their relationship had gotten more and more tense since Arthur had been forced to take his father’s throne. He trusted Arthur and he wanted to please him despite his usual behaviour. He valued the bond they had and so Merlin turned around and obeyed his master’s orders.

“Good”, he heard Arthur’s voice behind him. “Seems like you’ve finally come to your senses. That’s certainly something I never thought I’d witness.”

Merlin started to get nervous. Something in Arthur’s voice frightened him tonight. Now that he couldn’t see what was happening behind him he felt somewhat insecure. He had no idea whatsoever what Arthur had in mind for him. This position – well, it could mean several things, none of which were very comforting to think of.  
All of a sudden, he got pulled out of his thoughts when Arthur tore down his trousers and undergarments. 

“What are you going to do?” he stammered.

Arthur took great pleasure in seeing his servant scared and intimidated like that. Was that really the same Merlin who always had to have the last word? This was going to be a lot of fun.  
He grinned from ear to ear. He hadn’t really thought this through and was rather acting on an impulse. He didn’t know for certain what he was going to do to him.

“What I am going to do to you will be of your concern the moment I am doing it to you and not a single second earlier. There is no need for you to talk right now and I don’t want to keep answering your ridiculous questions. You will hold your tongue and only speak when spoken to. Is that understood?!”  
Oh, he really was good at this game.

“Yes.”

Arthur waited for Merlin to notice his mistake and let out a warning growl

“Yes, Sire.”

“And here I thought you were dead loss”, he laughed.

Arthur took his time to properly inspect his servant leaning half naked over the table. He knew the silence and uncertainty drove Merlin mad and he wanted to keep it that way. Slowly, yet noticeably, he removed his thick leather belt, ensuring that Merlin heard it unbuckling. With a loud snap he pulled the belt together, causing Merlin to jump up. It was probably best that he couldn’t see the big grin on Arthur’s face.

“Now”, the young king said, “let’s think back to that moment earlier when you were trying to hit me. Do you wish for me to show you how you properly hit someone, Merlin?”

Silence.

“I asked you a question!” Arthur said sharply. 

After a short pause, Merlin managed to speak.

“I do not want you to show me that, Sire, but I’m afraid that’s not the answer you expect to hear of me.”

‘Smartass’, Arthur thought.  
“That assumption is perfectly correct”, he said. “Tell me, how should I feel about you turning down my generous offer to teach you something, hm?” 

“I don’t know, Sire.”

“Well, Merlin, is there anything you do know? Because you can’t seem to answer my questions and you certainly don’t know how to hit. Most of all, however, you obviously don’t know whom not to hit.”  
Arthur was immensely pleased with himself. He enjoyed this greatly and loved to see Merlin search for a way to get out of this situation, as desperate and futile as the attempt might be.

“Well? I’m waiting, Merlin. My patience is running thin.”

“I am sorry, Sire.”

Merlin’s head turned red. He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t even remember the question. All he knew was that he was in trouble. Oh…!  
“I’m afraid all I know is that I’m in trouble, Sire.”

“Indeed you are, dear friend. Indeed you are.” 

Arthur walked up close behind Merlin, leaned forward and whispered in his ear:  
“And believe me when I say, you’re not sorry yet.”

Merlin let out a gasp. Or was it a moan? He could feel Arthur’s hot skin against his own. He had been in the middle of undressing when this all happened and still wasn’t wearing any shirt.  
The first blow hit him harder than expected. The thick leather left a burning sensation on his cold and bare buttocks. Merlin had tried hard not to cry out but couldn’t help it. The blow had come out of nowhere and caught him by surprise. He cursed under his breath, he hadn’t wanted to give Arthur the satisfaction of making him cry out, let alone scream. He didn’t have to see him to know that his master was probably grinning from ear to ear by now.

“Don’t tell me this is all you can take, Merlin. I’m merely getting started here.”

“No, Sire.” Merlin hissed angrily.

Slap! The second blow hit him, harder than before.

“You know, that really isn’t the time for that kind of attitude, don’t you think?” Arthur asked menacingly and with that he started hitting him with a series of blows, one harder than the other.

Merlin tried his best not to lose his composure, but the pain was getting too intense. He couldn’t stop his body from trying to escape the blows and let out a loud gasp. The hitting stopped and Merlin sunk back on the table. Part of him wanted to turn around to Arthur but the humiliation was too much to bare.

“Get back into position”, Arthur ordered. There was not a single bit of mercy in his voice now.  
“I know you probably think this is unfair and I am overreacting. I know you’d turn around and try to hit me again if you could. But understand this, Merlin: I care for you, I really do, which is all the more reason to put you in your place. You can’t walk around and behave like this in front of anyone. How often did I have to rescue you because you insulted other noblemen with your insolent behaviour? How often did you make me look a fool because my own manservant didn’t show me respect? This is for your own good.”

Merlin let out a soft whimper.

“Plus, I can’t deny that I am enjoying this immensely”, Arthur added and started laughing. “I have been wanting to do this for so long, every single time you drove me mad and called me a prat...and…what was that other thing again?”

“Clotpole.”

Slap!

“Ouch! I was just answering your question!” Merlin protested.

“I know”, Arthur grinned, “that is not why I am hitting you. Think, Merlin.”

“Clotpole, Sire.” Merlin replied with as much disrespect as one could put in the word ‘Sire’.

“It seems that you have not yet learned your lesson”, Arthur said. “Good! This is way too entertaining to be stopping so early. Stay where you are. Do not move. I will be watching you.”

If Merlin could have kicked himself right now, he would have done it. Why did he always have to be so rebellious? Couldn’t he keep his mouth shut just this once? He heard Arthur walk to one of the cupboards and open it. Slowly, he tried turning his head to see what was going on when suddenly…

“MERLIN!”

Damn.

Within seconds Arthur was back behind Merlin. He was holding something in his hand that Merlin couldn’t see, but he had other problems anyway. Arthur yanked back his left arm and pressed it onto his back. With his right hand, he slammed Merlin’s head down on the table and leaned over him, pressing him down with his own body.

“What did I just say?!” he growled into his ear.

“You told me not to move, Sire”, Merlin managed to get out.

“And what have you been doing just now?”

“I tried to see what you were fetching, Sire, I am sorry, I just…”

“Silence!”

Merlin stopped mid-sentence.

“You have proven once again that you are incapable of following even the simplest orders. I should have you locked up in the dungeon or put you in the stocks and throw away the keys.”

“Sire, no, I beg you”, Merlin whimpered. He hated the dungeon. It was cold and wet and there were rats everywhere. And there was always an unfortunate soul being interrogated or worse, screaming so loud he couldn’t possibly get a single second of sleep. And the stocks…well, that wasn’t so bad, but he couldn’t stand the humiliation and after a while you were always tormented by flies and other insects lured by the rotten food.

“I honestly don’t know why I am bothering with you anymore”, Arthur said, letting go of him. His voice was cold and distant, this was no game anymore.  
“Get dressed. The guards will escort you to the dungeons. Don’t ask me when I am going to let you out because I don’t know. I will search for a new manservant in the meantime.”

Merlin’s heart nearly stopped. No, that couldn’t be. That mustn’t be! Slowly, he turned around to Arthur, tears in his eyes.

“Please, my Lord, please don’t do that!” he begged, but the king didn’t even look at him.  
Merlin was on the brink of crying. Without even bothering to pull up his pants, he threw himself at his master’s feet. He looked up at him and when he saw the disappointment in his eyes he couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Sire, I beg of you, do not cast me away”, he sobbed. “I will gladly accept any punishment you see fit but please don’t force me to leave you. All I ever wanted to do was serve you to the best of my abilities!”

Arthur tried his best to keep up the façade. He had Merlin exactly where he wanted.

“I have given you more than enough chances, Merlin. This little exercise was meant to see if you could muster up enough discipline to be corrected by me instead of just locking you up for all eternity like you certainly deserve after all these years of disrespect and insolence. However, you fail to obey even the simplest of orders, even in a situation such as this. How am I supposed to trust you any longer?”

This was the hardest part for Arthur. He liked Merlin and didn’t like to see him this upset. However, it was more than clear that his servant desperately needed a wake-up call and he couldn’t think of another way to achieve that. He would have loved to tell him that all would be well and he would never release him from his services, but he couldn’t.  
Merlin didn’t know what else to say. All he knew was that he couldn’t leave Arthur. It was his destiny to serve him and keep him safe and now he had ruined everything because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. He was kneeling in front of his king, bowing so low his face touched the ground. He was crying and sobbing and begging him not to let him go.

“I know I have failed you, my Lord”, he started, not daring to lift his head, “and if you want to throw me in chains and release me of your service then you have every right to do so.” He paused to regain his composure. “But I would kindly ask of you – no, I beg you to give your miserable servant one last chance to prove his worth to you. My life is meaningless if I can’t spend it serving you and protecting you. I know I have a big mouth and in all honesty I cannot promise that that will ever change, but I can promise you that I love you with all my heart and don’t want to see you come to any harm. You have but to ask, I shall do anything to get one last chance of proving myself.”

Merlin was still staring down on the floor beneath Arthur’s feet, who hadn’t said a word for a few minutes now. His face was wet from all the tears and nervous sweat. He had said all he had to say. If that wasn’t enough to persuade Arthur, then he was lost.  
After what felt like an eternity, the young king started to speak, slowly and quietly.

“Very well then.”

Wait. What?

“I hadn’t thought it possible for you to finally swallow your pride and throw yourself at my mercy like this. I need you to understand, Merlin, that although I might consider you a friend, you are and forever will be my servant. When I say that I want all men to be seen as equal, then I mean that every man and woman should have the chance to prove their worth regardless of their rank and that nobody should be mistreated simply because of their social status. That does not mean that you don’t have to obey my commands. When you fail to do your chores or choose to embarrass me in front of the court, you weaken my position and you disregard the trust I have placed in you. You are my manservant. You are the closest anyone will ever get to me. You prepare my food, you help me dress, and you can enter my chambers at free will. I am king now and kings have enemies. I need to know that I can trust you with my life.” 

Merlin looked up to him, his eyes red from crying.

“I would die for you, Arthur.” he said.

“I know.” Arthur smiled down on him gently. “And although your behaviour is near intolerable most of the time, I can’t imagine having a proper manservant ever again.” He smiled.

“Does that mean I’ve still got the job?” Merlin asked with a wicked grin.

“Yes…but”

“YES!”

Merlin jumped up on his feet.

“I knew you couldn’t resist my natural charm and wit!”

“Don’t push your luck”, Arthur said threateningly. “From now on, a lot of things will change. I do not believe for a single second that you could ever change your behaviour, you are far too pig-headed for that. But I must warn you - I will not let your misdemeanours go unpunished any longer.”

“I understand, Sire.” Merlin said, grinning from ear to ear.

“I don’t believe that for a single second.” Arthur couldn't help but smile.  
“And don’t think that your punishment for hitting me is over yet!”

“Of course not, Sire.”

“You are the only person who can make honorifics sound this sarcastic, do you know that?!”

“Thank you”, Merlin laughed.

“That was not a compliment”, and with that Arthur grabbed him by his ear and dragged him back to the table.

“Well now, why don’t we start again? Tell me, Merlin, do you wish for me to show you how you properly hit someone?”

“I would be honoured, Sire” – Merlin didn’t even try to hide his big smile.

Arthur let out a sigh.

“You really are intolerable” and with that he took the cane he had fetched earlier.

“Count.”


End file.
